Embrace the food freedom, but exercise some restraint! The THM (Trim Healthy Mama) plan allows you to eat unlimited fats; things like cheese, nuts, heavy cream, butter, bacon, avocado, eggs, steak, pork…and did I say bacon? Yup! I sure did! But….with that being said, we have to find the balance between embracing and abusing. Because I can, doesn’t mean I should.
ALL of these yummy indulgent fats are allowed, in unlimited amounts (in S meals) however; because you CAN eat a pound of bacon or have an entire stick of butter, or eat an entire batch of on plan cookies….doesn’t mean you should. Like with everything too much of anything is not a good thing. Moderation is key here.
You will also want to constantly change up what you do and how you do it. Vary the amount of fuels (fats or carbs) within the boundaries…don’t do exactly the same thing every day, every week, every month. You’ll want to keep your body guessing and keep it in fat burning mode, by keeping it confused. Never allow it to become complacent…and if you feed it the same thing all the time, guess what? It WILL do just that! It will learn your habits and and figure out your patterns, then work…or not accordingly. You want it guessing…aka..burning. So change it up, shake it up, mix it up!
In S meals, vary the amounts and the kinds of fats that you choose. Eggs are considered a protein that contains fat, so have 3 scrambled eggs one day, then have just one mixed with egg whites another day, and have two whole ones the day after that. Use butter to scramble with one day, use coconut oil another day. Have cheese and avocados with those eggs one day, have just cheese another day, have neither the next. It’s all about variance. Keep changing it up. have veggies will ALL meals. Yes even with breakfast. I often sauté lettuce in the same pan I used to cook my eggs and then add them to my plates. I also have sliced cucumbers with my eggs. Yum! Now, I’m not a spinach or zucchini lover, but lately have discovered tons of ways to hide them in recipes like my Popeye’s Cup of Joe and my Shamrock Shake. If you love them as is without having to hide or disguise them, then by all means, Go for it!
In E meals, you need to do the same thing with your fuel sources. Vary them, and vary the amounts. You have a range of carbs to work within. 20 minimum, 45 max. One day, eat at the lower end of the range(20-25 carbs), next day eat at the highest (40-45) and third day, eat in the middle (30-35). Variance is key. Round out your plates with big heaping piles of veggies. 99% of them contain little to no fuel, so knock yourselves out. Just watch the starchier ones as they “do” contain fuels.
By mixing up your meals and your fuel amounts as I suggested, you are automatically covering all of the ranges of S and E. Light S, Heavy S, and plain old regular S. Now deep S is another thing altogether, as the goal of a deep S meal is to add no carbs whatsoever to said meal. This is sometimes one of the hardest categories to figure out, so to that end I’ve worked on a number of recipes to help you out. See the list called EFB or see any recipe with that designation.
Just keep changing it up constantly. Your bodies will ultimately thank you.
